Portrait of a Lady (The ^AWorld's Classics) by Henry James

ISBN: 9780192815149

When Isabel Archer, a young American with looks, wit, and imagination, arrives in Europe, she sees the world as bright and open. Rejecting suitors who offer her wealth and devotion, she follows her own path, and finds it leads to a dark and constricted future. This is the masterpiece of James's middle period, and Nicola Bradbury's new introduction provides a stimulating way in to this moving novel. The text is that of the New York Edition and includes Henry James's own Preface. - ;When Isabel Archer, a young American woman with looks, wit, and imagination, arrives in Europe, she sees the world as `a place of brightness, of free expression, of irresistible action'. She turns aside from suitors who offer her their wealth and devotion to follow her own path. But that way leads to disillusionment and a future as constricted as `a dark narrow alley with a dead wall at the end'. In a conclusion that is one of the most moving in modern fiction, Isabel makes her final choice. The Portrait of a Lady is the masterpiece of James's middle period, and Isabel is perhaps his most engaging central character. This edition provides a challenging new introduction and detailed notes; the text is that of the New York Edition and includes Henry James's own Preface. -